Note: The following is an interview with Pamela Christian, author of the new book, Prepare for the Harvest! Confidence in God’s End-Time Promises, releasing Oct. 15.
Q. Pamela, this fourth book in your Faith to Live By series, is a clarion call for the church to rise up and take her rightful place in God’s plan, based on your conclusion that most Christians, especially in America have adopted a fearful, cowardly and weak-church mentality. Why do you characterize the church in this manner?
Jesus’ instruction to His followers in Matthew 28:18-20 is clear. What we’ve come to know as the Great Commission has not been properly esteemed or implemented in our modern-day culture.
When I was a young girl, our American culture respected the Christian faith and the Bible, and businesses were closed on Sunday. Over the past 50-plus years, the Christian faith has become marginalized at best and vilified at worst. The Bible is considered equal to other documents of religious authority, and money is the God of many people.
The restraints that valuing God and the Christian faith once had on our culture are nearly gone. Respect of human life and personal property, value of family, treating others as we’d like to be treated, honoring authority, using respectful language, the pursuit of honorable morals and not perpetuating lies but pursuing honesty are overshadowed by all manner of harmful opposition. If the church at large had been doing its work, our culture would reflect the values of the Christian faith.
Q. Are you saying that everyone in America should be a Christian?
Not at all! Freedom from oppression lives in the heart of every human being worldwide. We are each created with the ability to choose what we desire. Not everyone will choose to embrace the Christian faith. However, if the church were effectively being the influence we’ve been commissioned to be, more people would realize the Christian faith not only makes the most logical sense to believe but is the most appealing to the human soul.
Q. There has been a lot of chatter among Christian leaders about the end-times harvest of winning souls to the Christian faith, which your newest book addresses. What makes your book on this topic different from others?
We have the Old Testament to learn from, where we see God’s people repeatedly embracing Him and His ways, then becoming influenced by the ways of the world until matters became so oppressive that they called out to God to be restored to Him. I think that’s precisely the place we are in today—meaning we’ve been given a second chance.
The exposure of deep corruption and the imminent revelation of God’s justice is what we’re experiencing in our culture and in governments around the world today. Unfortunately, the mainstream news is not properly reporting reality.
What I want my book to do is properly inform people about the reality of our times, how we’ve come to this post-modern culture, and equip and engage them to the be positive change agents the church is called to be. Jesus is not returning for a weak, cowering and confused bride. Yet that’s what the church is today. The weak-church mentality is a lie of the devil. Yes, it’s true that all manner of evil will increase in the end times, but so does all manner of righteousness. The victory belongs to the church, and it’s time we confidently know, embrace and demonstrate Christ’s love for His people and victory over evil.
Q. What do you recommend churches and individual believers do to be the positive influence our world needs?
First and foremost, as we learn from the Bible, those who profess to be Christians must conduct an in-depth personal assessment to make sure their devotion to Christ is unhindered. Any one of us who tries to have one foot in the kingdom of God and another in the world has no hope of enjoying or being a positive impact. I have been praying for the Lord to expose the corruption, even in the church, on the basis of 1 Peter 4:17. If the church is not purged of its corruption, we cannot do what we’re called to do.
Second, I encourage church leadership to conduct a survey of all the resources God has given them and creatively determine how to bring about increase, consistent with the Parable of the Talents. This includes the resources of gifts and talents God has given people in their community—not just their congregation. Leadership needs to reach far beyond the church’s own four walls and, in a spirit of unity, work to reach the lost. This means repenting from ego, competition, jealously and the like. If I’ve found the competitive spirit in the church appalling, how much more does Jesus? All of this and more, as I write in my book, is why I say our end-time theology makes us either a partner with God or an enemy against Him.
Which is your favorite of all the ministry work you do?
I like to personally connect with my audiences through social media and other written communication, but mostly in person. Writing books and taping television programs involves a lot of isolation—we write at our desk alone or are in the studio talking to people through a camera. Having the opportunity to see the faces of people who are being impacted by the words I bring is truly my favorite. {eoa}
For over 25 years, Pamela Christian has been working to help people discover and live in life-giving truth. Prophetic word spoken over her in 1994 that she would be a strong asset to the church giving wisdom, insight and instruction from the Lord, has been the Word she lives on, according to Matthew 4:4. She is an author, keynoter and media personality with a personal passion for cooking and entertaining. Pamela holds a certificate in apologetics from Biola and is a board member of Advanced Writers and Speaker’s Association and a member of the International Society of Women in Apologetics. She is also ordained as an itinerant international apostle with an honorary doctorate from the International Fellowship of Ministries, in association with the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network.
Pamela’s books are available at Christian bookstores, online retailers and through her website at PamelaChristianMinistries.com, where you can also learn more about her and her ministry.
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